


A Little Thought

by ilerya82



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Cobra - Freeform, Gen, daddy!killian feels, established captain swan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 17:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4146717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilerya82/pseuds/ilerya82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the cs writing challenge on tumblr.</p>
    </blockquote>





	A Little Thought

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the cs writing challenge on tumblr.

The door slammed, signalling Henry’s return from another day at school.  Killian could hear the thud of his shoes on the floor, the book landing on the kitchen table with a thud… The exasperated sigh that came with the telltale opening and thumping closing of the ice box along with what sounded like a chair skidding out from under the table signalled that now would be the time to intercede before there was any more damage to the floor or their dwelling. 

Henry was in a mood.  Killian could tell by the slump of his shoulders and the hand he was dragging through his hair that this was not an ordinary teenage mood.  He’d seen something similar from Emma once or twice, and usually it was her own temper that was causing most of the heartache.  Henry was his mother’s son, both mothers’ honestly.  He was a walking study in Nature vs Nurture.  Killian sauntered in to the kitchen with his usual abandon, making his way to the coffee pot on the counter and refilling his mug. 

“Rough day, lad?”

“Ugh, you have NO idea!”  Henry threw his hands in balled fists on to the table, rattling the bowl of fruit on the table.  Killian frowned; this was going to take some serious tact. 

“Care to talk about it?  I may be a little out of touch with everything, but I’m getting better,” his smirk broadening across his lips.  He didn’t have it all down, he was still learning a lot about the advances in modern technology, but he was a survivor and survivors adapt. 

“We had this project – a group assignment… And we were all supposed to meet up after school at the library – except I was the only one who showed up.”

“Ahhh…”

“I spent hours searching through books and magazine articles.  I created half of the presentation deck on my laptop –“

“You mean the little electric box that shows the Netflix?”

“Yeah,” Henry laughed. 

That was a good sign; maybe he would be able to get through to the lad before his mother was home from the station.  She didn’t need any more stress right now…

“My apologies, lad, do go on.”

“Anyways, so it was maybe five or ten minutes before the library closed, and I was just starting to pack up when they all just show up.  Like nothing happened – like they hadn’t just totally taken advantage of me and my time!  I had other assignments to work on – and I have to keep recording details in the books!  I don’t have that kind of time to waste and it was like they didn’t even care.”  He carded his hands through his hair and sighed with frustration. 

“Did they tell you why they weren’t there at the time you’d set?”

“Cara and Grace said their mother had to work late – couldn’t bring them until just then.  Mike tried to tell me about something but I just told them to never mind; they’d already wasted enough of my time,” Henry frowned as he said the words.  There it was – the realization that there were more things at play in the world that Henry could understand. 

“Cara and Grace, they have a little brother, do they not?”

“Yeah, he’s seven.”

“And Mike – you didn’t give him a chance to explain?”

“Well –“

“Because I think he probably had other plans tonight that were a long standing arrangement,” Killian smiled softly.  In fact he knew that was the case.  Mike was signed up for a program that David was helping to run, a kind of afterschool program that helped keep the children out of trouble that were the most at risk for it.  Mike had been spending the evening with Emma and David in the station helping them with paperwork and learning what it was like to be on the right side of the law. 

“You think I’m being too hard on them, don’t you?”

“I understand how you feel, lad, the question is do you feel like you’re being unreasonably hard on them?”

He noticed Henry’s expression soften at his words, perhaps he was even considering what had happened again.  When the young man lowered his head onto his arms on the table, Killian knew he had his answer. 

“Ugh, I’ve been a complete obnoxious brat about this!”

“Now Henry,” Killian admonished, “You did something that everybody does – you reacted on feeling. Sometimes those sensitivities are right, and other times… Other times they are not necessarily well founded.  Whatever the reason, be it having to watch a younger sibling until their parents were home or taking part in your mother and grandfather’s after school program-“ Killian noticed Henry’s expression fall even more – “there was no real intention to inconvenience you.  You just need to remember that people have other responsibilities in this life and often they can be more pressing than meeting at the library after school.” 

“I should call them and apologize,” Henry sighed, and Killian knew the lad had learned his lesson. 

“Sometimes you just have to take a step back, see the whole picture before you react.  Things are not always as they seem my boy.”

Henry looked up with a sad smile.  Killian ruffled his hair before standing.

“I’m going to head back to the laundry that needs folding before your mother gets home.  It’s getting late – perhaps…”

“Maybe I should call them tomorrow,” Henry stood and gave Killian a hug, “Thanks for listening Killian.”  He gathered up his things, tidying up the small mess he’d made in the kitchen before heading off to his room. 

Killian finished his coffee and reflected the win in his parenting column.  Standing he wandered back to the bedroom and continued folding the newly laundered baby clothes putting them away in the tall chest of drawers.  If he could handle a grumpy teenager, certainly he could handle anything.  


End file.
